Alvaston Moor Academy Review 2026: A rebuilding secondary with clear structures and a broad curriculum

A school in transition, Alvaston Moor Academy has put a great deal of emphasis on consistency, routines, and a clearer “way of doing things”, in response to historic instability and the realities of serving a diverse community in Alvaston, Derby. The current Principal is Miss Gemma Tyers, listed as Principal on the academy website and as Headteacher/Principal on Get Information About Schools (GIAS).

The academy’s most recent full inspection result is Requires Improvement, with that judgement recorded for the inspection carried out in November 2023 and published in January 2024. In performance terms, the school’s GCSE outcomes sit below England averages on the most recent published dataset used here, and the FindMySchool ranking places it below England average overall. That is the headline reality. The practical question for families is whether the current direction, structure, and support systems fit their child, particularly if they value clear boundaries, pastoral support, and a curriculum that tries to be both ambitious and accessible.

A consistent theme across official material is the push for shared expectations and a calmer, more predictable day. Ofsted described an improving school that is becoming more settled and stable, with changes intended to accelerate improvement, including a defined approach referenced as the “AMA Way”. That kind of language matters less as branding than as a signal of operational priorities, clarity in routines, and a desire to reduce classroom disruption.

Leadership has also shifted since that inspection. The academy website lists Miss Gemma Tyers as Principal, and the governance information lists her as ex-officio with a stated appointment date of 15 April 2024, which is a useful marker for when the current leadership era began. For parents, that helps contextualise the inspection narrative, which names a different principal at the time.

House identity is another visible part of the culture. The school’s “Head of Houses” structure includes houses named Athenians, Spartans, Corinthians, and Olympians, alongside a Student Parliament and a set of personal development activities promoted through the site navigation. For many students, houses and student voice structures are not window dressing, they can be a practical mechanism for belonging, behaviour reinforcement, and recognising effort beyond grades.

The available attainment measures paint a challenging picture at GCSE. The average Attainment 8 score is 30.1, compared with an England average of 45.9 used here. EBacc indicators are also low, with an average EBacc APS of 2.6 (England average 4.08) and 4.9% achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure captured. Progress 8 is -0.87, which indicates students, on average, made substantially less progress than pupils nationally with similar starting points.

In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 3,729th in England and 20th locally within Derby, which places it below England average overall. This sits within the lower national band, meaning performance is below England average.

For families weighing options, the implication is straightforward. Students who are self-motivated and resilient can still do well, but the headline outcomes suggest many pupils do not yet leave Year 11 with the breadth and strength of grades parents typically want. The most important practical step is to scrutinise how the school is addressing gaps: consistency of behaviour expectations, attendance improvement, strengthened curriculum sequencing, and targeted academic support.

A-level outcomes are not ranked in the FindMySchool dataset for this school, and a detailed grade profile is not available in the same way, so families considering post-16 should focus on the sixth form curriculum offer, pastoral structure, and progression pathways, and ask directly about typical destinations and support.

Curriculum design is one area where the academy provides unusually concrete detail for a mainstream secondary. The published KS3 and KS4 curriculum overview shows a defined hour allocation across subjects at Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9) and a core structure at Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11). For example, the KS3 “macro curriculum” sets out allocations such as English and maths at eight hours per fortnight, science at six, and a spread across arts, humanities, languages, design technology, PE, drama, and religious studies.

Subject pages give further texture. In English, KS3 units reference work that spans origins of language, epics, Shakespeare, gothic literature, rhetoric, and dystopian writing, which signals an attempt to build cultural and analytical knowledge over time, rather than simply teaching to isolated assessment objectives. History outlines topic sequences including 1066, Tudor England, the transatlantic slave trade, the Industrial Revolution, World War One, and the Holocaust, with emphasis on enquiry and interpretation. Science publishes a structured biology, chemistry, and physics sequence across terms, with clear coverage progression.

The most recent inspection supports a mixed but improving picture. It points to secure subject knowledge among teachers and an overhaul in curriculum delivery, while also highlighting inconsistency in checking understanding and in pupils’ ability to retain knowledge over time. For parents, the implication is that classroom experience may vary between subjects and year groups, and the best way to test “consistency” is to ask for specifics: how homework is used, how reading is supported, what interventions look like at KS4, and how departments monitor gaps in knowledge and attendance-related learning loss.

The school serves ages 11 to 19 and operates within a local post-16 landscape that includes sixth forms and colleges. The inspection confirms the school meets provider access requirements, which matters because it shapes exposure to technical education routes and apprenticeships as well as sixth form pathways.

Because published destination statistics are not available here in a form that can be responsibly quoted for this school, families should treat this as a “questions to ask” area rather than a numbers comparison. Useful, practical questions include:

• How many Year 11 students progress into the sixth form, into FE colleges, or into apprenticeships, and what support is offered for each pathway?

• What is the support model for students retaking English and maths if required?

• How does careers guidance build from Year 7 to Year 11, and how is it personalised?

The academy’s broader personal development offer, including lecture series, enrichment, and structured experiences, is relevant here because confidence, attendance, and habits typically influence post-16 success as much as subject choices do.

For Year 7 entry, the school is a Derby City secondary academy within coordinated local authority admissions. In the most recent admissions demand snapshot provided here, there were 209 applications and 175 offers for the relevant entry route, with the route described as oversubscribed. That translates into roughly 1.19 applications per place.

For September 2026 entry, Derby City Council’s secondary admissions handbook states a closing date of 31 October 2025 and confirms National Offer Day as 02 March 2026. The same handbook’s school-level listing also records an admission limit of 210 for the academy and lists session times as 8.30am to 3.00pm.

Open events are clearly positioned as part of the decision process. The academy website advertises an open evening on Thursday 09 October 2025, with a quieter session from 5.30pm to 6.00pm, and the main event from 6.00pm to 8.00pm, aimed at Year 5 and Year 6 families considering September 2025 or September 2026 entry.

A useful planning approach is to combine three checks. First, read the published oversubscription criteria for the relevant year. Second, use the FindMySchoolMap Search to understand your likely travel patterns and practical distance, then sanity-check against how admissions operate locally. Third, attend an open event or arrange a visit so your child can gauge the behavioural culture and classroom routines in practice.

The school’s strongest official wellbeing signal is that safeguarding was judged effective in the most recent inspection. The same report points to high-quality pastoral care for pupils who need extra support, while also highlighting that absence, lesson removal, and suspensions were high at the time of inspection, and that a minority of lessons were disrupted by poor behaviour.

This combination is important. It suggests a school that recognises the intensity of the challenge, is investing in support, and is trying to tighten routines. For families, the practical implication is to probe the day-to-day: how the behaviour system works, how students are reintegrated after removals, what early help looks like for attendance issues, and how SEND support is delivered consistently across subjects.

The attendance information published by the academy puts punctuality expectations plainly, including being on site by 8.30am, and frames attendance as foundational to outcomes. In a school where attendance has been a stated improvement priority, routines around start-of-day and consistent follow-up on absence are part of the lived experience.

Extracurricular offer matters most when it is specific, accessible, and tied to wider student development. At Alvaston Moor Academy, enrichment is positioned as part of personal development rather than a bolt-on.

Sport and physical development

Facilities are clearly stated. The PE department describes access to a sports hall, gymnasium, fitness suite, astroturf, MUGA, and two large fields suitable for rugby, football, and athletics. The implication is that sport can be used both for broad participation and for structured behaviour and wellbeing routines, particularly valuable in schools working to strengthen calm, orderly movement and shared expectations.

Student leadership and belonging

Student Parliament and house representation are visible named structures on the school site, and the “Head of Houses” model gives identifiable adult leadership around house identity. For many students, particularly those who do not see themselves as “academic first”, these structures can be the route into confidence, recognition, and attendance improvement, through roles, responsibilities, and consistent adult relationships.

Wider personal development

The school site highlights a lecture series and the Duke of Edinburgh offer as named activities within personal development navigation. For parents, the value is not the label, it is the cumulative effect: structured experiences that build speaking confidence, teamwork, and a credible CV for post-16 or apprenticeship applications.

Session times listed in Derby City Council’s secondary admissions handbook are 8.30am to 3.00pm. Term dates are published for multiple academic years via the academy’s term dates page.

Travel planning is a meaningful part of daily experience for an 11 to 19 school. Families should assess not only the route, but also punctuality expectations, after-school commitments, and how safe and workable the journey is in winter. For parents comparing options, using FindMySchool’s Local Hub comparison tools can help place outcomes, admissions pressure, and school context side-by-side, before you decide which open events to prioritise.

• Current performance profile. GCSE outcomes and progress measures sit below England averages in the most recent published dataset used here. This matters most for families prioritising strong exam outcomes, particularly where a child needs sustained academic momentum.

• Behaviour and attendance improvement journey. Official reporting highlights both positive change efforts and the reality of disrupted lessons, suspensions, and persistent absence. Families should ask how consistency is achieved across subjects, and what support exists when students struggle with routines.

• Leadership change since the last inspection. The principal named on the most recent inspection report differs from the current Principal listed by the academy and on GIAS. Any judgement should account for what has changed since mid-2024 and what is still bedding in.

Alvaston Moor Academy is best understood as a school working to stabilise and improve, with a clearly articulated curriculum structure and a strong emphasis on routines, expectations, and pastoral support. The inspection outcome and current GCSE performance metrics show there is still considerable ground to cover. It suits students who benefit from explicit structure, clear boundaries, and a school putting serious effort into consistency and support, particularly where families will engage closely with attendance, behaviour routines, and academic catch-up.